Easy carrot tarte tatin recipe with nduja
This super delicious and easy to make carrot tarte tatin is a savory version of the classic French dish that is usually sweet. With the addition of the spicy nduja mix this carrot version is one to keep in your recipe repertoire! We loved it and even cold it was super delicious!
Carrot tarte tatin
Now I had only ever made sweet tarte tatin recipes but I was on a roll with making recipes that contained both carrot and goat cheese so I figured why not try and make this into a tarte tatin? You don’t need a lot of ingredients to make this beauty. You need carrots of course, puff pastry, nduja, thyme and goat cheese.
What is nduja?
Nduja is a spicy pork sausage that can be spread on toast or – in this case – on roasted carrots. It’s originally from Italy and it’s become quite the rage around these parts. I actually was able to buy it in the grocery store which surprised me. But if you cannot find nduja you can easily replace it for spicy chorizo or another sausage of your choosing. Or – also a good option – leave it out and keep the carrot tarte tatin vegetarian.
How to make the tarte tatin with carrots
Making the carrot tarte tatin is super easy but it does take a bit of time. The first thing you need to do is roast the carrots. If you have large carrots make sure to slice them lengthwise in half or even in quarters depending on the size of your carrots. Roasting them first brings out the sweetness of the carrots and cooks them first. You can also use baby carrots but it also largely depends on the size of your baking dish.
To roast the carrots you place them in a single layer on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle with some olive oil and honey and add some cumin, fresh thyme, pepper and salt. Roasting them for about half an hour should be enough. They are done if the tip of a knife goes in easily.
Once the carrots are soft and roasted you take a round oven dish or ovenproof frying pan or large skillet. I do like using a cast iron skillet for this. Now place the carrots in a circle in the pan. You can see how that looks by checking the pictures. It doesn’t actually make a big difference how you place them in the pan. Just make sure you cover the surface of the pan.
Once they are placed spread them liberally with the nduja mix or if you’re using chorizo crumble the sausage over the carrots. Crumble some goat cheese over the top as well and sprinkle on some additional thyme leaves. Now it’s time to place the buttery puff pastry on top of the carrots. Tuck it in the dough edges on the sides and make a few small slits in the pastry with a sharp knife. Brush the top of the pastry with some egg wash and place in the oven.
Finishing
Now you let the carrot tarte tatin bake in the oven until it is deep golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let it cool down a little bit. Now take a large round serving plate that fits over the pan. Place the plate on top of your baking dish and using both hands hold the upside-down plate and the baking dish and turn it over in one go. Be careful as hot liquid might be coming out. The puff pastry is now at the bottom of the plate and the carrots are facing upwards.
For serving you can add some extra crumbled goat cheese on top of the carrot tarte tatin and finish with a bit of thyme. If you can find thyme flowers that’s even better but it depends on the season. Cutting the tarte tatin is probably easiest with a serrated knife. It is best served at room temperature but I actually also liked it cold. Due to the honey and the roasted carrots it is still a sweet dish but with a spicy finish due to the nduja.
If you want you can finish the dish with a sprinkle of flaky salt and some drops of extra-virgin olive oil. Keep in mind that there will be fat coming out of the nduja, so be careful with adding more.
Another good addition would be some drops of balsamic vinegar.
Serving
You can serve the carrot tarte tatin as is as a side dish or serve with a big green salad for some additional nutrition. You can also make this into mini carrot tarte tatins if you want and have individual portions served. It looks great with some additional fresh herbs over the top.
Additions and variations
Now you can easily vary the dish by changing some of the toppings. If you’re not a fan of goat cheese this would also be super delicious with blue cheese or even regular grated cheese. Instead of the nduja you can leave it out and add some heat by adding some chilli flakes. You can also roast some garlic cloves with the carrots roast. Instead of the carrots you could also make this tarte tatin with large leeks. Cut of the thick end of the leeks and also roast them in the oven. It’s ok if they have brown bits as leeks do tend to color more than carrots. They will also sweeten considerable while roasting so would be a perfect variations. You can also add goat cheese on top of the leek mixture. Or add the nduja also.
Carrot tarte tatin
Equipment
- 1 9-inch round baking dish
Ingredients
- 500 g carrots cleaned and cut in half lengthwise
- 2 tbsp honey + extra for the baking dish
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 sprigs thyme use the leaves only
- 1 tsp cumin
- Salt and pepper
- 1 puff pastry roll
- 1/2 jar Nduja few tablespoons
- 75 g goat cheese soft – mature –
- 1 egg for glazing
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Spread the cleaned carrots on a baking sheet so that they are in one layer. Sprinkle with cumin, thyme, pepper and salt. Drizzle with olive oil and honey. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Drizzle a little more honey over the bottom of the greased baking dish. Remove the carrots from the oven and spread them out in one layer in the baking dish. Don't do this in a springform pan as it may leak!
- Coat the carrots with a few tablespoons of Nduja and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Crumble the goat cheese over the carrots and cover with the puff pastry.
- Tuck the edges of the pastry in (remove any excess pastry) and make a few small slits in the pastry. Brush with egg wash and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and done.
- Allow to cool slightly, then place a large plate over the baking dish. In one motion, flip the casserole with the plate on top. Top the tarte tatin with more goat cheese and thyme leaves, if desired.
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
